SISTER RED: Volume 1

The mundane life of schoolgirl Mahito Takeda abruptly changes when she is hit by a speeding car. As her life ebbs away, Mahito sees a mysterious woman in a swirling dark coat, urging her to welcome death. Mahito wakes in her own room and initially thinks it was all a dream. But then she sees the same woman in her mirror, telling her she did indeed die and return to life. This visitor, Alice, tells Mahito she has become "a creature of the night" like herself, called a Median. Although Mahito continues to lead her normal life at home and school, when she encounters her killers, she loses control and transforms into a monstrous creature that wreaks vengeance upon them. To complicate matters, Mahito begins to meet outwardly normal people who also prove to be Medians, but not benevolent ones like Alice, who gave Mahito half of an enchanted heart, which grants immortality and the power to destroy other Medians. Hence, opposing factions among the Medians are after Mahito. Hayashiya tells the story of an innocent girl's descent from her everyday existence into a dark world that grows increasingly dangerous and achieves a number of striking visual effects, such as the sudden emergence of the car that will kill Mahito out of blackness, or her macabre transformation into a shadowy, wild creature. Hayashiya creates mood so well that even shots of seemingly ordinary individuals turn ominous in context. Unfortunately, the storytelling is somewhat unclear, undermining the intriguing premise. (Feb.)